right now! >> debate night in des moines. it looks like the show will go on without the front-runner as ted cruz doubles down on his challenge to debate donald trump one-on-one. >> saturday night in sioux city, we already have it reserved. 8:00 saturday night, two hour, one-on-one debate. plus, hillary clinton pushes hard for one more debate ahead of the first in the nation primary. and bernie sanders thinks he knows why. and later, more arrests connected to that armed standoff in oregon as the leader of the group appears in court and urges his followers to go home. it's 5:30 on the east coast. 2:30 out west. this is "way too early."

good morning. it is thursday, january 28th, i'm erica hill. donald trump is holding fast to his decision not to participate in tonight's republican debate. trump instead announcing a special event to benefit veteravetera veterans at the same time as the debate. it will be held at drake university, an eight minute car ride from des moines. trump appeared on fox last night where bill o'reilly asked him if he should admonish and forgive the journalists that mistreated him. >> it probably is, but, you know, it's called an eye for an eye, i guess you could look at it that way. >> no, no, no. that's old testament. if you're the christian, the eye for the eye rule goes out. here's what it is. turning the other cheek. >> bill, let me tell you, you're taking this much more seriously than i am. >> who is? >> you're taking this seriously. i'll have a wonderful time tomorrow night at 9:00 at drake university. >> but you're depriving the people of seeing you in a forum they need to see you. >> no, i'm not. no.

the press will be there. everybody -- we'll help a lot of veterans, whereas fox is not giving anything to the veterans. i'm giving 100% to the veterans. >> oh. stop. >> i'll make a substantial donation. >> you heard trump raising money for the veterans' charities. yesterday two prominent organizations the iraq veterans of america, and wounded warrior said they were not involved. john mccain suggested that trump is exploiting the veterans for politics. >> anyone who is running for office and gets to pick who the moderator is that's the destruction of free press as we know it. and second of all, i think that part of it is to blame the media that basically is giving him a free pass. i wish he were not using a veterans event as a way to further his own political

agenda. >> now meantime the other republican candidates are preparing for two different debates. one with or without trump. jeb bush has a $20 bet that he will show. and ted cruz will now be the main target in a trumpless debate. a risky proposition, ranking second for in most polls. cruz is naming a time and a place for a debate. now super pacs are officering to donate $1.5 million for veterans charities if trump shows up. >> apparently, mr. trump considers megyn kelly very, very scary. she might ask a mean question and who knows what could happen. i mean, his hair could stand on end and i'm going to propose a venue western iowa tech saturday night in sioux city. we already have it reserved. 8:00 saturday night, a two hour

one-on-one debate. >> in response, trump tweeted even though i beat him in the first six debates especially the last one, ted cruz wants to debate me again. can we do it in candidate? jeb bush has been down in the polls for months and while bush and his brother the 43rd president have done some fund-raising together in some closed door events it sounds like that is about to change. >> he's been helpful. he's raised money, but we're going to get him out, get the old boy -- dust him out off and get him out there. he turns out to be the most popular republican that's alive. >> yeah. >> you know, so it's not a bad i think this to be the brother of a great president and a great brother. >> just a day after "the new hampshire union leader" announced it was hosting an unsanctioned democratic debate to air on msnbc february 4th, hillary clinton said she was anxious to make it happen. here she is yesterday on "hardball." >> look, chris, what i said to my campaign is that i would look forward to another debate.

i am -- you know, anxious if we can get something set up to be able to be there and so let's try to make it happen. >> would you like the chair of the democratic national committee debbie wasserman schultz to approve the msnbc/nbc debate next week? >> i would like the chairman of the party and the campaign to agree that we can debate in new hampshire next week. that is what i'm hoping will happen. >> okay. >> now after that interview the sanders campaign released a statement saying clinton is only now calling for more debates because of sanders' momentum. his campaign changed clinton to three additional debates, one each in april, march and may. if the camp commits to the debates, he will arrange a debate in new hampshire on february 4th. bernie sanders met privately with president obama in the oval

office. only the second such meeting in the seven years since obama took office. it comes days after the president heaped praise on clinton. afterward, sanders said that the president has been nothing but fair throughout the primary process. >> the president and i discussed this morning a number of issues. foreign policy issues. domestic issues. occasionally a little bit of politics. but i enjoyed the meeting and i thought it was a very positive and constructive meeting. but the president has tried to do it, the vice president biden has tried to do, is to be as even handed as they could be. i know there was some discussion the other day about a politico interview where he was tipping the scale towards secretary clinton. i don't believe that at all. i think he and the vice president have tried to be fair and even handed in the process. and i expect they will continue to be that way. >> the white house reiterated yesterday president obama does not plan to endorse a candidate

in the democratic primary. nor does he plan to make public who he votes for in the illinois primary. after his white house visit sanders headed back to iowa last night where he was joined at a rally by susan sarandon. that more than doubled a bill clinton event taking place two miles away. while that was playing out in iowa hillary clinton met with dozens of african american faith leaders in philadelphia. she also attended a fund-raiser at the headquarters of a financial firm which senator sanders seemed eager to point out. >> i am delighted to be here with you tonight in mason city. my opponent is not in iowa tonight. she is raising money from a philadelphia investment firm. [ audience boos ] frankly, i would rather be here with you. [ applause ] >> earlier in the day yesterday, clinton was in iowa where she campaigned at a bowling alley.

telling supporters there her plan for regulating wall street is the toughest of the three democratic candidates. and that republican attack against her are evidence. >> i'll give you the best evidence as to why my plan to go after wall street is the toughest plan. it's because the republicans are advertising against me. now, i have to tell you, i do find this perversely flattering. but i also find it very instructive because if they weren't afraid of me, they would be sitting back just hoping i'd get nominated but instead, they know me. they know i say what i mean, i mean to do what i say. and i will never let them do what they did to us before. so they're trying to stop me before i get too far. well, a lot of folks have tried to take me out before and i'm still standing. >> new this morning, we are

learning more arrests have been made in the armed occupation in oregon. three men turned themselves into authorities yesterday. eight others including ammon bundy were arrested late tuesday afternoon. some of the protesters were stopped by authorities while driving along a rural highway. a law enforcement official tells nbc news they were in two vehicles. one vehicle reportedly tried to drive off, but hit a snow bank. according to the official, lavoy finicum got out brandishing a firearm and he was shot and killed. his daughter said he died defending his beliefs. >> just because he's dead doesn't mean his fight won't go on. he's now a martyr. and i just miss him. >> ammon bundy is now asking the remaining occupiers to abandon the refuge. he says to go home and hug their

families. "the seattle times" is reporting a small group of protesters is refusing to leave. it is unclear how many protesters are still there at the refuge. police have set up blockades around the area. the city of ferguson is bringing sweeping changes to the policing protocols. the proposal calls for the police department to reorient the use of force and de-escalation and avoiding force. it calls for the appointment of an independent monitor and requires all patrol officers and jail personnel to wear body cameras and microphones. they must be in place in 180 days. it comes after the justice department released a scathing report that ferguson is a city where the police department operated as a single money making venture and investigators found that they used excessive force almost exclusively against african-americans. the city council is scheduled to

vote on the proposal next month. the university of missouri assistant professor who was caught on video calling for some muscle to remove a journalist from a protest last fall has been suspended. the university board announcing the decision to suspend assistant communications professor melissa click. click gained national notoriety after this everybody -- encounter on campus. >> can i talk to you? >> no, you need to get out. >> no, i don't. >> you need to get out. >> i actually don't. >> hey, who wants to help me to get this reporter out of here? i need some muscle over here. help me get him out. >> the suspension came two days after click was charged with third degree assault, a misdemeanor in connection with the incident. she has pleaded not guilty. turning now to the latest developments in the flint water crisis. a new lawsuit is asking a federal judge to order the

immediate replacement of all the lead pipes in flint's water system at no cost to customers. rick snyder says he has no immediate plans to replace them, though he hasn't ruled it out. in the meantime, the city hired a virginia tech professor who is helping to oversee the water testing there. it's not clear when the residents can drink the water again without filters. u.s. stock futures are looking a bit better after yesterday's more than 200 point loss on the dow. that's in part because of the fed statement on the economy. steve cedric joins us live from london. that did they say to spook the investors? >> it was more about what they didn't say, because they didn't soothe the nervous market by saying don't worry we won't hike four times in 2016, despite concerns about the global economy. and the isolation we're seeing. as such, the market sold off a bit. it was also to be fair about boeing and about apple which had disappointing numbers.

elsewhere though, there was fantastic figures from facebook as well, the shares rallied 13% which put $35 billion on the share price. ad revenues grew 57%. and i have one more story for you, it's a bank that you and probably haven't heard of before. it's a swiss bank, it marks the last settlement with the swiss banks which basically have been accused of leading wealthy americans, and it less led to $3.3 billion being paid to the justice department. they're the last ones. >> thank you. still ahead, top ranked serena williams going for her 22nd major title after a win at the semifinals. we have highlights. plus, dangerous storms leave behind a trail of destruction in parts of florida. you can see it there. bill karins tell fuss a tornado

threat is over. that's next on "way too early." it was a nightmare. a cruel, shocking end to the challenger program. the challenger program, it was consumed by a giant fireball explosion less than two minutes after it was launched into the bright blue florida skies at 8:38 eastern time this morning.

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against angelique kerber. over on the men's side, novak djokovic and roger federer are in the middle of of the semifinal match-up. djokovic is leading two sets to one. the other men's semi will be tomorrow between andy murray and number 13, ranic. the oakland warriors extended their home winning streak to 40 games after the victory over the mavericks. this time, it's klay thompson putting up the big numbers. he led all scorers with a season high of 45 points in the game. golden state has now gone a full year -- calendar year without losing game on their home court. in hockey, calgary flames defenseman wiedman will have more explaining to do after hitting an official last night against the predators. wiedman skated toward the bench, lays what looks like a vicious cross check on referee don henderson from behind. there it is again. wiedman isn't penalized for the move. he said after the game it was

completely unintentional. that's a quote by the way. >> yeah. >> the veteran explained he was distracted after taking a big hit himself. as for the official he gets to his feet. you will see it here. looking a little dazed. still managed to finish out the game. >> a month, half a season? >> a lot of discrepancy in the studio over that. pitcher tim lincecum is a free agent for first time in his career. might be shopping for contracts we're told outside of san francisco. one avid giants fan who you may recognize is trying to keep the righty in san francisco. that's tom anderson who offered to get this shell out his own cash if it means keeping lincecum in the giants rotation. >> wow. >> that's a fan. >> indeed it is. let's get a check of the weather with bill karins. going to offer cash to anyone around here? >> keep barnacle around? >> yeah. >> no, maybe we'll go to the

piggy bank. i don't know. ready for the january thaw? we're getting one, it's already started in the middle of the country and it will head east this upcoming weekend. this isn't boiling warm,but 57 in denver is impressive. 35 in south dakota is pretty warm. they're typically in the 20s. by friday, we start to watch it heading east. not until the weekend though that we get significant warming. raleigh, 57 degrees by the time we get to saturday and on sunday and monday that warmth will make it up to the east. the heavy areas that got the heavy snow from d.c., philadelphia, philadelphia jumping to 54 degrees. that's good. it could rain by the time we get to tuesday or wednesday. so no signs of any cold air or snow for the east in the next week. south florida, i have to show you the pictures from yesterday. we had some thunderstorms roll through. and had one tornado. it wasn't that big. only had 100 mile per hour

winds. but it went over this highway in broward county, one injury. thankfully we didn't have anything worse than that. but pretty impressive stuff than that. narrow funnel touched down and became a tornado for 2 1/2 miles. we have some thunderstorms to deal with. isolated risk of severe weather. if we'll get an isolated tornado, miami southwards late this afternoon is the area of greatest concern. a marginal risk for storm, so ft. meyers and vero beach today. i know people are looking forward to warmth and snow melt. >> yes, i can see grass at my house. still ahead, presidential candidates are trying to impress voters ahead of the iowa caucuses including mike huckabee who is channeling his best adele. "way too early" is back. want bladder leak underwear that moves like you do?

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let's get a check on the other stories trending this morning. for that we head to the control room and louis burgdorf. >> good morning. you may or may not have heard of martin o'malley, he's brought his guitar on the campaign trail and jimmy fallon had some fun with it. take a look ♪ iowa, iowa, winter, spring, summer or fall ♪ ♪ sowing our crops, singing our songs ♪ ♪ waiting until harvest time oh, iowa ♪

♪ iowa, >> the audience seemed into it. >> you're still singing? [ laughter ] >> well, when is martin o'malley coming out? >> i think it worked the first time that the cows started booing instead of mooing. >> not to be outdone, 2008 caucus winner mike huckabee is out with a parody of adele's record breaking video "hello." here it is. ♪ hello, sioux city your wood berry supper club, try the pork chops, baked beans ♪ ♪ just as good as pizza, ranch

and the ice cream ♪ >> that's making me hungry. last week the real video by adele became the fastest video to hit 1 billion youtube views ever. finally, bernie sanders gets ripped for his personal appearance and coif from time to time and last night, stephen colbert helped him to rewrite or in this case rephotograph history. >> last week, senator sanders admitted he's never owned or worn a tuxedo. so i drew the conclusion -- bernie sanders could not get a date to prom. so i challenge you to make bernie's prom dreams come true by photoshopping yourself into this prom photo. this is bernie and left shark. you know it's a left shark because there's no way that bernie can get the support of right shark. this is bernie with a bernie from weekend at bernie's.

finally, @stumbling stone, this is bernie with me from high school. >> i think bernie could get a prom date. what do you think? >> definitely these days, yes, i think he'd be fine. thanks. that's going to do it for us. coming up on "morning joe" just four days before the first votes, donald trump defends his decision to skip tonight's debate as ted cruz tries to shame the front-runner into debating him into one-on-one and hillary clinton is trying to squeeze in one more debate before the primary. (politely) wait, wait, wait! you can't put it in like that...

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at business.ny.gov despite bowing out, fox news -- you see this? they're still trying to get people excited about the debate. >> thursday night it's the fox news republican debate! sure donald trump won't be there, but that doesn't mean this debate won't blow your foxing mind! we've still got a bush that won't be tamed. >> we were -- we had -- we balanced every budget. >> and ben carson is about to open your head and drop a sponge in it! >> the value of